My mistake. Hippie Radio in Jackson was WHPP.
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Shortest-Lived Format (Not Stunting) on Radio
- Thread starter seattlesarchiebunker
- Start date
My mistake. Hippie Radio in Jackson was WHPP.
They could almost have called that Radio CONELRAD.
Should have added my own to this post...
Lived near Richmond, VA for a couple years from 1988-91. The former NPR station (owned by a Presbyterian seminary) decided running a 22-hour-a-day public radio format was for the birds and sold the commercial frequency (106.5) to a group of lawyers who upgraded the station to a full class B build out. About 4 months later, they signed the station back on as hot AC WVMX "Mix 106". About a year after sign on the lawyers decide to cash out. AFAIK, they were able to trademark "WVMX" and "Mix 106" and the new owners were required to change both the name and format of the station as a condition of purchase (I'm assuming one of the partners probably wanted to resurrect the Mix format somewhere else in town).
This is where things get weird: The new owners flip the format to all-metal "MX106" retaining the WVMX calls. Even in 1989, metal as a dedicated format was fairly niche, even more so considering Richmond is a mid-sized market and was at the time very old-money socially conservative (Richmond is one of the few towns that Howard Stern couldn't last in due to an advertiser's protest...same station as a modern rocker 7 years later). Anywho, the idea that someone would buy a state-of-the-art station to play headbanging rock was bizarre, but they put waaaaay too much effort into it for just a wacky placeholder format: They had DJs, newspaper ads, live events, even a contest where they gave away a several-thousand-dollar stereo system.
Whether it was all a ruse or not I have never determined. Maybe someone knows...It did appear they were trying to make a go of a full-time metal format! MX106 signed on in very early August '89...before the end of the month the format was jettisoned and 106.5 became WVGO "Oldies 106".
Archie B.
Lived near Richmond, VA for a couple years from 1988-91. The former NPR station (owned by a Presbyterian seminary) decided running a 22-hour-a-day public radio format was for the birds and sold the commercial frequency (106.5) to a group of lawyers who upgraded the station to a full class B build out. About 4 months later, they signed the station back on as hot AC WVMX "Mix 106". About a year after sign on the lawyers decide to cash out. AFAIK, they were able to trademark "WVMX" and "Mix 106" and the new owners were required to change both the name and format of the station as a condition of purchase (I'm assuming one of the partners probably wanted to resurrect the Mix format somewhere else in town).
This is where things get weird: The new owners flip the format to all-metal "MX106" retaining the WVMX calls. Even in 1989, metal as a dedicated format was fairly niche, even more so considering Richmond is a mid-sized market and was at the time very old-money socially conservative (Richmond is one of the few towns that Howard Stern couldn't last in due to an advertiser's protest...same station as a modern rocker 7 years later). Anywho, the idea that someone would buy a state-of-the-art station to play headbanging rock was bizarre, but they put waaaaay too much effort into it for just a wacky placeholder format: They had DJs, newspaper ads, live events, even a contest where they gave away a several-thousand-dollar stereo system.
Whether it was all a ruse or not I have never determined. Maybe someone knows...It did appear they were trying to make a go of a full-time metal format! MX106 signed on in very early August '89...before the end of the month the format was jettisoned and 106.5 became WVGO "Oldies 106".
Archie B.
Mix 106 was trademarked? For about a decade starting in the mid-90s WNMX Charlotte NC used the name. The station was standards and has since gone oldies and then Spanish.
Doing some research shows me that only “WVMX” was trademarked by the Daytona Group of Virginia starting in 7/88 expired 7/95. That being said, there was/is no prohibition on having it as your call letters. No info on “Mix”, but at the time those were the very, very early days of the hot AC “Mix” format..my guess is whoever tried the name and format first got the right to protect it with a trade/service Mark within that market/regionally. I guess a good modern example is EMF being unable to broadcast K-LOVE to several major markets because Univision has the rights to the name locally.
The “Mix” moniker returned to Richmond about 10 years later when long-time hot AC WMXB stopped calling themselves “B103”. By that point, I doubt anyone at the former Daytona Group of Virginia could care that Cox stole their old station’s name.
Archie B.
The “Mix” moniker returned to Richmond about 10 years later when long-time hot AC WMXB stopped calling themselves “B103”. By that point, I doubt anyone at the former Daytona Group of Virginia could care that Cox stole their old station’s name.
Archie B.
Early in January 2018 The Portuguese Broadcasters who were leasing 1570-AM Methuen/Boston, Mass moved their programming to 1260-AM in Boston and 1570 flipped to Spanish language programming as "Viva 1570". Presumably that was also brokered. By the end of March "Viva 1570" was gone giving way to English Language Oldies Music as "Big 105.3" (using their translator in their branding). So that was about 2 1/2 months as Viva 1570.
KHIG was supplemented by brokered and religious programming during the pot talk thing. So it was mix of live shows, brokered, some repeat broadcasts, radio shopping from their sister station mentioned below. It’s perfectly OK to tell someone how to use a dabbing rig on the radio. The trouble was (and is) it's still illegal to advertise cannabis products themselves on the radio.
But that could change in the very near future, as Congress is now at the tipping point on national recreational cannabis legalization. If the House changes hands in November as expected, it’s pretty much guaranteed.
Their FM sister KFEZ, had a particular format problem. Usually during the middays on a Soft AC FM (even in small markets), Tradio and local radio shopping shows are frowned upon when you’re the “at work” station. Not at KFEZ. Every day, twice a day, the brakes slammed and two hours of radio shopping came on.
I think KFEZ got sold too. They’re now playing oldies, but I haven’t heard their stream in a while so I don’t know if they’re still doing that awkward radio shopping thing.
But that could change in the very near future, as Congress is now at the tipping point on national recreational cannabis legalization. If the House changes hands in November as expected, it’s pretty much guaranteed.
Their FM sister KFEZ, had a particular format problem. Usually during the middays on a Soft AC FM (even in small markets), Tradio and local radio shopping shows are frowned upon when you’re the “at work” station. Not at KFEZ. Every day, twice a day, the brakes slammed and two hours of radio shopping came on.
I think KFEZ got sold too. They’re now playing oldies, but I haven’t heard their stream in a while so I don’t know if they’re still doing that awkward radio shopping thing.
I heard KFEZ during a major e-skip opening last June, and I heard Rick Dees IDing 'Cruisin' 101.3 and AM 690'. So the Soft AC day/Smooth Jazz night format no longer airs in Walsenburg. I streamed KFEZ on several consecutive weeknights a few years ago - very different sounding SJ station than most. They didn't air the usual staples, they would air a lot of newer cuts, interesting remixes, a little bit of R&B here and there (I heard Take 6's 'Biggest Part of Me' once) and some straight JAZZ too. Some of those were very old; heard a Duke Ellington cut from the '50s, and Fats Waller's 'Ain't Misbehavin'' - which was in 78-RPM quality (and the song was recorded in the summer of 1929!) But I didn't hear one Sade song, Anita Baker song, or Kenny G cut whatsoever.
Even their soft AC format was interesting - a lot of 1970s stuff that I wouldn't hear elsewhere.
Even their soft AC format was interesting - a lot of 1970s stuff that I wouldn't hear elsewhere.
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